Final leg of the Henday open on time

It was a mix of dignitaries in suits and construction workers in orange safety vests Saturday morning for the grand opening of the completed Anthony Henday Drive. The $1.8 billion northeast leg now has traffic flowing on it, closing the loop that will make Edmonton an easier city to navigate.

Former PC Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure MLA Wayne Drysdale says he’s not at all surprised that the project was completed exactly on time.

“Yeah, it’s not hard for me to believe, that was the plan. It was a P3 project so, they’ve have always been successful at being done on time and on budget and they were supposed to be done today and we’re opening it today, so that speaks well for the contractors that work here and the P3 model, it works very well on these big projects.”

Current Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Brian Mason was on hand, he says it’s an exciting time.

“I think it’s an important development for the economy in the region; it’s certainly going to make getting around the city for truckers, for commuters, for everyone a lot easier.”

Construction began in earnest back in 2000. The total cost of the project? $4 billion.